THREE
1061 Words
Justin’s POV
It took me a second to register the pain.
At first, all I felt was the sharp burn, hot, and crawling up my arm like fire licking through my veins. The guy had come at me fast, some cheap foul out of frustration, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor, clutching my hand like it was going to detach.
People were yelling. The coach crouched next to me, saying something I couldn’t hear. The ref blew the whistle three times in a row, and my vision blurred for a second.
I tried to breathe through it, to shake it off, but that’s when I saw someone running to the court.
Not a player. Not a medic.
A girl.
At first, I thought I was hallucinating. Pretty sure I’d taken a hit harder than I thought. But no—she was real, moving fast, eyes wide, like she didn’t care who was watching.
“I have a CPR/AED certificate; get me a first aid kit now. Let me help; we have to stop the bleeding immediately!”
Everyone in the court froze for a second. She didn’t.
She dropped to her knees beside me and pressed something soft—maybe a hoodie—against my palm. Her hands were shaking a little, but her voice was calm.
“You’re fine. Not dying. Unless you go into shock, which I’d like to prevent, so try not to freak out.”
Bossy. Unexpectedly hot.
I squinted up at her, blinking through the sting of sweat and injury. I didn’t recognize her, which was weird. People like her usually didn’t fly under my radar.
“Who-”
“No time,” she snapped, not even looking me in the eye, focused entirely on my hand like it was some puzzle she was determined to solve.
And then I did look at her.
Dark brown hair pulled into a messy bun, red lips pressed into a fine line, gray eyes that weren’t sparkling, flirty, or trying to impress. They were focused.
Definitely not a fan girl.
Or if she was, she didn’t show it.
When our eyes finally met, something in my chest jolted. It was some weird reaction that had nothing to do with pain. My breathing stopped for a second, and I had almost forgotten a crowd surrounded us.
She quickly averted her gaze back to nursing my injury, and I did the same, but I didn’t miss the rosy tint that crept up her cheek. She was cute. Despite how hard I tried to stop myself from staring while she did her thing, I found myself peeking at her secretly.
“The bleeding has stopped,” she announced after a while, and I saw Caleb, one of my close friends and teammates, come into view.
“You should get him to the hospital. He’ll probably need some stitches,” the girl continued, her attention directed at Caleb this time.
“Thank you,” Caleb replied before looking at me. “Let me help you up, man,” he said, grabbing my unharmed hand and helping me up.
“I’ll come with-“ she said. “Just in case the bleeding starts again… you know, on the way,” she clarified sheepishly.
A small smile graced my lips despite the harsh pain from my hands, which was now bandaged with her cloth.
Caleb looked between us like he was watching a scene unfold he hadn’t been cast in. “Yeah, cool. Let’s get moving before Coach flips.”
She helped me grab my bag while I leaned my weight onto Caleb’s shoulder. As we headed for the gym exit, I glanced over at her again; she was trailing beside us like she wasn’t sure if she belonged but was determined to stay anyway.
I could feel the stares from the crowd, phones in their hands, some recording, some whispering.
But all I really noticed was her.
“I’m Justin,” I said, although I was pretty sure she already knew that since my name was printed boldly on my jersey. “I’m Annabel, but you can call me Anna,” she replied with a smile.
“Anna,” I repeated, liking the way her name rolled out of my mouth.
“Y’all moving or what?” Caleb called from a few steps ahead, pausing at the gym exit door.
“Coming,” I called and followed him out of the gym with Anna beside me. I winced slightly from the force of moving too quickly and straining my injured hand. I was going to deal with that fucker responsible for this later.
The ride to the hospital was quiet except for my random groans of pain. We were taken to the emergency room on arrival. The emergency room smelled of antiseptic and fluorescent.
I sat on a stiff plastic chair, hand wrapped in gauze and throbbing in sync with my heartbeat. Caleb was pacing aimlessly. The nurse said the doctor would be in soon, but “soon” in hospital terms felt like a year.
Anna was sitting across from me, legs crossed, her fingers tapping restlessly against her jeans. She hadn’t said much since we left the gym.
“I think I should go-“ she finally spoke, although she looked unsure.
I gave Caleb a panicked look, and his eyes squinted slightly when realization dawned on him.
I didn’t want Anna to leave just yet, but I also knew she had no reason to stay. But why did I get the feeling that she would agree to stay a bit longer if given a little nudge?
“Actually-“ Caleb started, scratching the back of his head nervously. “I have to run out to do something really quick. Could you look after him for me till I get back? I promise I won’t be long.”
Anna looked between Caleb and me, her brows pulling together in a hesitant way as if she were debating whether to stay.
“I mean… yeah. Sure,” she finally said, her voice small.
Caleb shot me a quick wink behind her back, then bolted like he really had an emergency to take care of. I made a mental note to thank him later.
But right now, my attention was locked on the brown haired girl across from me.
- Writer
